Church documents recorded women playing football in Carstairs, Lanarkshire, in 1628.[10] Scotland first played a women's international match in May 1881.[10] Women's football struggled for recognition during this early period and was banned by the football authorities in 1921.[10] Club sides who were interested in using their grounds for women's football were subsequently denied permission by the Scottish Football Association (SFA).[10] The sport continued on an unofficial basis until the 1970s, when the ban was lifted.[10] In 1971 UEFA instructed its members to take control of women's football within their territories. The motion was passed 31–1, but Scotland was the only member to vote against it.[11]Football in Scotland has traditionally been seen as a working class and male preserve.[12]

Scotland's first official match, a 3–2 defeat to England, took place in November 1972.[5][6][7] The team was managed by Rab Stewart. The 1921 ban on women's football was lifted in 1974, and the SFA assumed direct responsibility for Scottish women's football in 1998.[12] Scotland have participated in most international competitions since the ban was removed. The team's standing has improved significantly in recent years, reaching an all-time high of 19th place in the FIFA Women's World Rankings in March 2014.[4][13][14] They reached their first major tournament finals when they qualified for UEFA Women's Euro 2017.[15] The team followed this up by qualifying for their first World Cup finals tournament in 2019.[16] Following their qualification, the Scottish Government announced they would provide funding to allow all the players to train full time in the lead up to the World Cup, a welcome announcement as several players do not play professionally.[17] Their final home match (against Jamaica) before the 2019 World Cup saw a record attendance for the national team of 18,555.[18]

Claire Emslie scored Scotland's first World Cup goal, netting in their 2019 opener against England on 9 June.[19] After losing their second game, 2–1 against Japan, Scotland needed to win their third game against Argentina to qualify for the last 16 as a third-placed team.[20] They appeared to be heading for qualification when they took a 3–0 lead, but they conceded three late goals to draw 3–3 and exited at the group stage.[20]

The (English) FA indicated in June 2013 that they would be prepared to run women's teams at future Olympic tournaments, subject to one of the home nations meeting the qualification criteria (i.e. being one of the top three European nations at the Women's World Cup).[26] Following objections from the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish football associations, and a commitment from FIFA that they would not allow entry of a British team unless all four Home Nations agreed, the FA said they would not seek entry into the 2016 tournament.[27] An agreement was reached between the four associations ahead of the 2020 tournament, and qualification was secured by England reaching the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup.[28]

Hampden Park in Glasgow is the traditional home of the men's national team and is described by the Scottish Football Association as the National Stadium.[50] A Scotland women's international was played at Hampden for the first time in October 2012, when it hosted the first leg of a European Championship qualifying playoff against Spain.[51] Earlier in 2012, Hampden had hosted matches in the Olympic women's football tournament. In May 2019 the team attracted a record attendance for a women's football match in Scotland, when 18,555 were present at Hampden for a World Cup warm-up friendly with Jamaica.[18]